Living in London; Traveling and Eating Everywhere

Sushi of Shiori, Euston

Jon, our friend J and I arrived at Sushi of Shiori last week with high expectations. London Eater, who eats a lot of sushi, loved it so much he visited three times over a two-month period; Hollow Legs, never one to hold back if she dislikes a place, raved about her £50 omakase (chef’s choice) dinner there. And of course, pros, too, are fans.

We’d called ahead to ask for an omakase dinner for £40 a person. I was expecting mind-blowingly-fresh fish and a relaxed evening catching up with J, but when we left Sushi of Shiori two hours after we’d first arrived, I felt like both my expectations were half-met.

Sitting at the 3-person counter facing the chef, (who’s ex-Umu, if you hadn’t heard), the three of us found it mildly awkward carrying on a conversation. One of the differences between Sushi of Shiori and other sushi counters is that there’s nothing separating you from the sushi chef. It didn’t help that for the first 30 minutes or so, we were the only diners in the restaurant (there are five other seats, which isn’t much, but having even just two other people around can help the atmosphere).

crabmeat and baby courgette

A mouthful of delicate, sweet crabmeat was a good start.

miso soup with fried flowers

Fragrant, umami-rich miso soup was possibly the best version I’ve ever tried. The chef’s wife, a one-woman front-of-house, told us the rice-krispy-looking garnish were deep-fried flowers. They added nice texture, but the soup would have been excellent even without them.

sea bass

The sea bass sashimi was beautifully fanned out, peacock style, with each “feather” dotted with sticky plum sauce. We dipped each delicate slice of sashimi in a small bowl of ponzu sauce, which did its citrus refreshing thing. All very good, but the fish seemed to rely heavily on the sauces for flavor.

sashimi platter

Highlights of the sashimi platter were the scallop and the prawn, both wonderfully sweet. Low point was the not-so-fatty tuna, which had been seared to the point of becoming a lukewarm cube of flavorless protein.

nigiri and maki platter

Rice-based nigiri and maki are usually my favorites at sushi restaurants. On the plus side, the rice was slightly warm, not too sticky, and a good balance of sweet and tart. The downside was that none of the fish was memorable.

Wagyu beef nigiri

The seared beef nigiri was very nice, topped with spring onion and a ponzu jelly.

green tea ice cream

And for dessert, the green tea ice cream with a crispy, nutty biscuit would’ve been a perfect end to our dinner sans mealy chestnut.

At around 9 pm, a wave of people arrived at the restaurant to order takeaway, which made me think Sushi of Shiori would be a *brilliant* place to order takeaway sushi. But for a transcendent sushi restaurant experience? Not so much. Maybe £40 a person wasn’t enough to experience fireworks, but I left Sushi of Shiori disappointed. High expectations are a bitch.

Aaahh…totally know what you mean. When you have high expectations, you end up expecting more.
Or when everyone else seems to be raving about it and you don’t quite have the same view, you wonder whether it is you…because I feel that way about The Ledbury.
But hey…we should all trust our tastebuds and what we like.

Good to know your review as I have yet to go and perhaps now I will be heading there with a bit more reservations.

High expectations are a bitch! A very good point about lack of privacy, as it’s something that wouldn’t have occured to me. It also goes to show that eating out isn’t just about the food but that you have to create the right atmosphere in which you can relax.

That said I may go for a take-away blow out one day, as it isn’t a milllion miles from my office.

I’ve just been to Japan – we had incredible omakase there. I had hoped to be able to experience something similar here in London with Sushi of Shiori, does not appear to be the case… The seabass looks delicious though!

I quite enjoyed the £50 omakase I had at Sushi of Shiori back in August but I must say recent opening Yashin Sushi in Kensington blows SoS out of the water. Easily the best sushi I’ve had in London – it’s only been open a few weeks and I already have plans for a third visit next week. Seriously worth a visit!

@gourmet traveller – excellent tip (Yashin Sushi) and will def check it out when back in town. I’m currently in Taipei eating my way through plenty of sushi and chinese food. I suspect I’ve now spoiled all sushi in London for the foreseeable future.

[…] Sushi of Shiori sounded like the second coming. But when I finally snagged a counter seat there, I was disappointed. Never again will I allow my expectations to rise like that, I vowed. I’ll stay content […]

[…] to go to New Tayyabs anymore, now that the DG is so close by. We also hit the much-vaunted Sushi of Shiori near Euston Station, which I’m much happier with as a takeaway customer. In fact, while […]